Global| Jul 09 2013U.S. Gasoline Prices Slip But Crude Oil Breaks $100.00 per Barrel
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The price of regular gasoline edged lower last week to $3.49 per gallon. That remained its lowest level since early January. Prices were well below the $3.78 per gallon peak reached late in February. Haver Analytics constructs [...]
The price of regular gasoline edged lower last week to $3.49 per gallon. That remained its lowest level since early January. Prices were well below the $3.78 per gallon peak reached late in February. Haver Analytics constructs seasonal factors to account for seasonal volatility. The adjusted price also fell for the fourth consecutive week. At $3.44 per gallon it compared to a February peak of $3.94.
Working sharply higher, however, were light sweet crude oil prices. Last week's $4.11 rise to $100.03 per barrel (16.6% y/y) pulled prices to the highest level since the first week of May. Prices have jumped from the June 2012 low of $80.29. Yesterday prices rose further to $103.14. Brent crude oil prices also rose last week to $105.24 per barrel (6.3% y/y), but they remained down from the February high of $118.50.
With the heating season overnatural gas prices have been under modest pressure. They declined last week to $3.54 per mmbtu (+24.3% y/y) and were $3.66 yesterday, down from the April peak of $4.26.
The demand for gasoline was unchanged y/y last week. The arrival of the summer driving season has raised gasoline demand 5.1% since the April low. Residual fuel oil needs, used for heating, fell 12.0% y/y but distillate demand rose 10.5% y/y. Gasoline inventories jumped 9.1% y/y.
The energy price data are reported by the U.S. Department of Energy and can be found in Haver's WEEKLY database. The daily figures are in DAILY and the gasoline demand figures are in OILWKLY.
| Weekly Energy Prices | 07/08/13 | 07/01/13 | 06/24/13 | Y/Y% | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Regular Gasoline ($ per Gallon, Regular) | 3.49 | 3.50 | 3.58 | 2.4 | 3.62 | 3.52 | 2.78 |
| Light Sweet Crude Oil, WTI ($ per bbl.) | 100.03 | 95.92 | 96.71 | 16.6 | 94.20 | 95.14 | 79.51 |
| Natural Gas ($/mmbtu) | 3.54 | 3.72 | 3.88 | 24.3 | 2.75 | 3.99 | 4.00 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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